Drone pilot charged after posting YouTube video of Maryland military complex

Dan Belson, The Baltimore Sun on Feb 16, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BALTIMORE — A man was federally charged in Maryland last week after posting drone footage on YouTube of a flight over part of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, a military installation buried in the Catoctin Mountains sometimes described as a “second Pentagon.”

The drone pilot, Stuart Dale Bennett, was identified by FBI agents after a U.S. military official reported in September that a YouTube channel had posted drone footage of an “identified sensitive national defense facility,” according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for Maryland.

Bennett could not be reached for comment. The Raven Rock videos were no longer visible on his YouTube channel, titled “Area 82 Surveillance911.” The channel includes a description stating that he has “varied interests that range [from] secret to military.”

The video in question was a drone flight over the Raven Rock installation, a vast military complex built into the mountains along the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. Opened in 1954, the complex was constructed to function as a replacement Pentagon in the event of a nuclear attack. It remains an active base and is officially called the Alternate Joint Communications Center.

FBI officials wrote that Bennett’s drone entered restricted airspace above “Site C,” an outlying communications support facility located on Quirauk Mountain in Maryland’s Washington County, to record the footage. With both facilities still in use, the space above them is classified by the Federal Aviation Administration as restricted national defense airspace.

Authorities searched Bennett’s residence and seized the drone a few weeks after the video was posted online, according to the FBI affidavit. During the search, the YouTube account was logged in and “appeared to have a video processing for upload to the channel.”

Bennett was charged with knowing or willful violation of national defense airspace, a federal crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of one year. He is due in court Friday for an initial appearance.

Multiple drone flights over Baltimore sporting events have prompted authorities to issue similar charges against the pilots involved, though they rarely receive prison time. A man whose drone flight over M&T Bank Stadium interrupted a Ravens-Steelers wild-card playoff game last January was ultimately sentenced to one year of probation, 100 hours of community service and to pay a $500 fine.

---------